Jun 18, 2026 · 53 min · 12 segments
If you’re in eating disorder recovery and living with ADHD, you might feel like you know what you’re supposed to do—but actually doing it can feel overwhelming, inconsistent, or just plain exhausting…
Natalie SteinGuestLaura McLainHostSamantha DeCaroHostI thought we could start at the basics for our audience because ADHD, I think, is really misunderstood.
You know, like you said, I think people think of like the hyperactive young boy who's, you know, climbing the walls when ADHD looks different for everyone.
So I thought we can start with what is ADHD? This is a term that we hear ADD a lot in the media and social media.
And disclaimer, I am but a dietitian, so I know what I've learned, but I have definitely not had the academic expertise as somebody who might be a therapist or a psychiatrist.
I like to reframe it as a neurodevelopmental difference because I really do believe there is nothing disordered about this, just like some people are tall versus short, fat versus small.
It's just another aspect of diversity, just a difference in your nervous system and neurobiology diversity.
But what I can... commonly kind of show up as is um they say inattention but i like to think a difference in attention you know i think of my son in school where like he can pay attention but only if it's something that's of interest to him it's not like he can't pay attention by any means right um And all these patterns do like, I think of them as like an internal world and an external world.
So like inattention to our external world, our parents, caregivers, friends telling us things, and we maybe not be able to hold that attention, but also like our inattention to our internal worlds of our hunger cues, our thirst cues, going to the bathroom cues, Same with hyperactivity.
You know, when we look at that stereotypical young boy with like the outward hyperactivity, and they do exist because I do have one as a sign.
For a lot of people, and especially like a sign female at the birth, like, it can be more of that internal hyperactivity, like the mind jumping all over the place and not feeling like they can have a calm mind and that like internal restless thoughts.
And then definitely we have those patterns of like impulsivity Um, and that can definitely play into food, both like I've seen it where like we have the kind of where our mind might stereotypically go to impulsivity of like binging or like not paying attention to what we're eating, but also, um, like impulsivity with like engaging with eating disorder behaviors outside of that.
Um, like there's a really big overlap in, um, ADHD and bulimia and that impulsivity around, you know, purging behaviors.
Also, I've seen it with clients, how like we have a goal and they really want to achieve this goal, but then the impatience and the impulsivity shows up and it's like, well, I'm not, I'm not there yet.
Like, why would I even try and like kind of reverting back to old thoughts or patterns around food? But I think those are the core.
Kind of like, I don't like to call them symptoms too, but just like traits that can manifest with ADHD.
And, you know, for a long time, we also thought it only exists in children and they can grow out of it.
But, you know, I think for those... like, you know, the adults that are diagnosed with ADHD, a lot of them become really high masking individuals.
I thought we could start at the basics for our audience because ADHD, I think, is really misunderstood.
You know, like you said, I think people think of like the hyperactive young boy who's, you know, climbing the walls when ADHD looks different for everyone.
So I thought we can start with what is ADHD? This is a term that we hear ADD a lot in the media and social media.
And disclaimer, I am but a dietitian, so I know what I've learned, but I have definitely not had the academic expertise as somebody who might be a therapist or a psychiatrist.
I like to reframe it as a neurodevelopmental difference because I really do believe there is nothing disordered about this, just like some people are tall versus short, fat versus small.
It's just another aspect of diversity, just a difference in your nervous system and neurobiology diversity.
But what I can... commonly kind of show up as is um they say inattention but i like to think a difference in attention you know i think of my son in school where like he can pay attention but only if it's something that's of interest to him it's not like he can't pay attention by any means right um And all these patterns do like, I think of them as like an internal world and an external world.
So like inattention to our external world, our parents, caregivers, friends telling us things, and we maybe not be able to hold that attention, but also like our inattention to our internal worlds of our hunger cues, our thirst cues, going to the bathroom cues, Same with hyperactivity.
You know, when we look at that stereotypical young boy with like the outward hyperactivity, and they do exist because I do have one as a sign.
For a lot of people, and especially like a sign female at the birth, like, it can be more of that internal hyperactivity, like the mind jumping all over the place and not feeling like they can have a calm mind and that like internal restless thoughts.
And then definitely we have those patterns of like impulsivity Um, and that can definitely play into food, both like I've seen it where like we have the kind of where our mind might stereotypically go to impulsivity of like binging or like not paying attention to what we're eating, but also, um, like impulsivity with like engaging with eating disorder behaviors outside of that.
Um, like there's a really big overlap in, um, ADHD and bulimia and that impulsivity around, you know, purging behaviors.
Also, I've seen it with clients, how like we have a goal and they really want to achieve this goal, but then the impatience and the impulsivity shows up and it's like, well, I'm not, I'm not there yet.
Like, why would I even try and like kind of reverting back to old thoughts or patterns around food? But I think those are the core.
Kind of like, I don't like to call them symptoms too, but just like traits that can manifest with ADHD.
And, you know, for a long time, we also thought it only exists in children and they can grow out of it.
But, you know, I think for those... like, you know, the adults that are diagnosed with ADHD, a lot of them become really high masking individuals.
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